Foreign

Raw. Poignant. Perfectly, powerfully performed and executed in present-day Havana; “Jesus” and his miscreant father “Angel” live atop “the most beautiful slum in the world”. There is so much beauty in “Viva”, achingly personal and real, that investment in every character is cemented with the first introduction: “Jesus” (Hector Medina) survives by shaping the wigs of drag performers; he wistfully …

The decimal number system can be traced to the Indus Valley (3000 BCE); the concept of “zero”,  the ubiquitous ruler, all were conceived in India. Indians have a natural affinity for mathematics and science. Writer/director Matthew Brown delves into the remarkable story of gifted, unschooled mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920) born in Tamil Nadu, India and brilliantly educated G.H. Hardy (1877-1947) …

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does,  it is sensational; that jolt, awakening, knowing you are experiencing the finest ingredient of filmmaking…..pure, scintillating entertainment. “Sing Street” written and directed by John Carney (“Once”, “Begin Again”) captivates viewers long after the theatre is bright and the screen dark. Ireland in the 1980’s, “Conor/Cosmo” (remarkable Ferdia Walsh-Pello) a fifteen-year-old high “schooler” …

An original take on a used and abused theme: a star whose “stalker” becomes a menacing, obsessive, destructive force. Loosely based on 1981’s “The Fan” starring Lauren Becall and James Garner and 1996’s imitation starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes; Bollywood heartthrob, Shah Rukh Khan, pulls out all the stops and plays both the “stalker” and the “star”. At …

Director Jerzy Skolimowski’ s exhilarating, edgy, electrifying romp for an eleven-minute time span in luscious, contemporary Warsaw, has a deliciously paralyzing effect on the viewer; the dizzying pace renders one immobile for its fascinating and compelling 83 minutes.  Brilliant camerawork and editing bounces from one scenario to another, knowing these disparate individuals are destined to collide; Skolimowski’ s fathomless imagination …

Hank Williams (1923-53), country western singer and songwriter, supernova, whose fire was extinguished at the age of twenty-nine; a damaged heart and back (spina bifida), a voracious alcohol and drug addiction cauterized his longevity. He is immaculately depicted by English actor Tom Hiddleston. Hiddleston, an accomplished Shakespearian actor (check out the BBC broadcast of “The Hollow Crown: Henry V”) bears …

There is a purity, a sublime essence in “Marguerite” that is sensationally unique; an unlikely heroine, both tragic and admirable, a Diva whose talents lie in the bastardization of every iconic aria created by the masters of music; Mozart, flayed, her favorite, unworthy victim. Catherine Frot is magnificent as “Marguerite”, a Countess of formidable means in 1920, Paris; her screeching, …

Director Gavin Hood’s taut, traumatic, contemporary warfare film will ambush viewers from its first frame to its stunning conclusion. Starring Helen Mirren as  UK “Col. Katharine Powell”, who after a six-year hunt has discovered the lair of suicide bombers and key terrorists in Kenya; Drone technology allows the military to detect, spy and target threats to international security; “Eye in …

Chris Rock soared as the host of one of the most controversial award ceremonies to date; his barbs were delivered with aplomb, levity and fairness; humorous aphorisms eliminated the “sting” of elimination. Possibly too repetitious but universally tempered with a benign sensitivity and awareness that never again will the Academy Awards be as colorless as the 88th! The two major …

Thanks for participating in the Peneflix Oscar contest.  There were no winners this year as no one selected all the categories correctly.  Better luck next year! Recap of the awards show to follow soon on Peneflix.com.